St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-04-07
sending North, and branding their

calves but there are no beeves."
At another stopping place, the head
quarters of a large ranch owned by
Massachusetts, men, the head man, who
was citizen of Cambridge, talked
freely with the party, some of whom
he knew. His company was then
rounding up about 1000 head of cattle
which were To start the next day for
the Indian territory to feed and fatten
for the Chicago market. When asked
why they did not fatten them here, he
replied that cattle took on flesh better
in colder climate This cOmpany's
ranch is not fenced, it contains many
square miles of land, aud cost the COM
pany between ten and fifteen cents an
acre yet a mile square of it will not
fatten one three years old steer. This
company does not own any land in the
Indian territory, but they have rep
resentative" there-a white man who
married a woman with Indian blood
in her veins, and by means of his citi-
zenship and kinship to the aboriginal
owners of the land these Eastern sharp
ers are allowed to fatten their cattle on
land not their own without money and
without price. That is one instance
where civilization over-reaches the
savage. Is it any wonder the said saw
age mistrusts if he does not hate the
pale-face 2
And now word about Western
beef. We-have in our party a man
who has kept stall in Faneuil Hall
market for twenty years. He has had
the Texas beef to sell. He states une-
quivocally that it is the poorest kind
of beef he ever handled. 1t is seldom
fat and when it is in good condition
the meat is poor. 1t is different kind
from the meat raised East 1t is wild
and sinewey and tough, and no amount
of feeding can make it tender and
Juicy. This same man visits all the
markets in the cities along our route,
and he finds no beef in this country
that he could sell in Boston, it is so
poor.
Why do people emigrate to such
God -fOrsaken cOuntry9 Let a woman
answer: At water station on the
Southern Pacific road, IS miles from
any village and probably 200 miles
from tree or rod square of green
grass-with nothing but sand and bare
rocks and Spanish dagger plants as
far as the eye could see-the train
stopped for orders and the passengers
all got out for exercise. A dozen rods
away on the bare sand two men and a
horse were boring for water, and near
by was a tent. To this tent several of
our party went, among them man
from Worcester, Mass. A neat look
ing and sadfaced woman came out of
the tent to greet the strangers. In re-
ply to the enquiry where she came
from she replied, "WOrcester, Mass"
"And what did you come here for"
knows" was the response, as tears
stood in her eyes. After few min
utes chat, which did her a heap of
good and the company no harm, the
train moved away, followed by her
waving handkerchief until distance
made it invisible. Some tried to i'm
agine the loneliness of that home to
one New England born and bred; but
it was impossible. There is an Amer
lean desert. 1t is not myth. 1t is
not "fugitive and vagabOnd on the
face of the EARTH" as the book states.
just where it begins or where it ends
l know not but l would like to raise
in large letters on either side this in
scriptiOn, "WhO enters here leaves
hope behind" c. NJ. STONE.
Ell PasO, Texas, Mar. 81.